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Control Yuan to call Soong, Chiu

Control Yuan officials are set to summon key figures in the financial scandal surrounding independent presidential candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜).

The watchdog body's special investigation task force issued summons yesterday to Minister of Finance Paul Chiu (邱正雄) and Soong himself.

The action comes in the wake of further allegations that relatives of Soong -- this time, his mother-in-law -- received funds equalling US$400,000 in 1998.

Control Yuan officials said the task force would question Chiu tomorrow, but declined to say when and where Soong would be questioned.

The task force also plans to summon Soong's sister-in-law and financial advisor Chen Pi-yun (陳碧雲) and her son Wang Tzu-chiang (王自強).

In questioning Chiu, the task force will focus on the leaking of information from financial institutions regarding Soong's case, the officials said.

Chiu would also be asked to clarify points in the ministry's investigation report on the case, the officials added.

For Soong's part, the task force may focus on whether or not Soong omitted portions of his assets from his financial declarations, as well as possible tax evasion.

The task force is likely to question Soong at a location outside the Control Yuan, the officials said.

Meanwhile, Soong's campaign officials claimed that government agencies had been using various methods to pressure Soong's camp.

The officials added that many pro-Soong officials at the township level are being summoned by the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau for questioning.

A report in the Liberty Times yesterday said that in November 1998, a total of US$400,000 was sent to Soong's mother-in-law, Chen Ching-mei (陳清美), who resides in the US, through an account using the name of Soong's son, Soong Chen-yuan　(宋鎮遠). The report did not attribute the information to a specific source.

A spokesman declined to respond directly to the allegation, saying only that members of Soong's family had never sent public money out of Taiwan, and that any private amounts of money sent were within legal limits.

Responding to the allegations, New Party lawmaker Hsieh Chi-ta (謝啟大) said yesterday that the Liberty Times, which published the report, had become a "propaganda paper for Lee Teng-hui."

The paper responded by saying it has been consistent is its pursuit of "social justice," and that the paper was merely trying to seek the facts behind the alleged wrong-doing of public figures.

It added it had obtained proof to back its allegations.

It said the paper had tried to verify its information several ways, and that it would take legal responsibility for the contents of the report.
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